A Scary Drinking Risk You Need to Know About

The outcome of a recent trial is a reminder that throwing back a few too many is always a bad idea.

By
Zoe Ruderman

Jun 03, 2011

\n

Here at Cosmo, we've been reporting on the dangers of binge drinking for a long time. So you already know that getting drunk can have a whole slew of bad consequences. But last week, we were confronted with a very scary example of the risks of throwing back too many drinks.

Two New York City policemen, who were on trial for raping a severely intoxicated young woman, were acquitted of rape, but found guilty of misconduct and immediately fired. They had accompanied her home, didn't call an ambulance for her, and returned to her apartment three times over the course of several hours. One of the cops even admitted he "snuggled with her while she wore nothing but a bra." The woman admitted on the stand that she couldn't remember exactly what had happened. And legal experts believe that really hurt her case. It's a terrifying wake-up call.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

The prosecution claimed that one policeman raped her while the other stood guard. DNA evidence of a rape wasn't found (there wouldn't necessarily be if a condom were used or the woman showered after the incident). The woman's lawyers did however present evidence that one of the cops made a fake 911 call to justify their return to the woman's apartment. But the call couldn't be traced and despite testimony that it sounded like the officers, jurors couldn't be 100 percent sure.

The defense maintained that the victim was too drunk to be considered a credible witness. She had consumed somewhere around 15 drinks worth of alcohol, according to the toxicologist. The officers never called for medical assistance or brought her to a hospital. Instead, they seemed to have taken advantage of the fact that she might not clearly remember their inappropriate actions.

One of the ways you can avoid going through what this woman experienced is to make sure that you don't go overboard when drinking.